For Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) and the High Holy Days that follow, The Fellowship and IFCJ Canada provided aid and support to families and the elderly affected by the ongoing Ukraine war, thanks to over $9 million in annual grants. The aid provided included essential food, physical and mental health care, and education assistance for these Jewish families through pre-paid bank cards.
Families that received assistance from the grants include the Evesha and the Belye families in Ukraine. The grant has allowed Svetlana Evesha to purchase essential groceries with a prepaid bank card for her elderly aunt and 11-year-old daughter. She also buys medicine and care products for her aunt that she otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford on her usual monthly income of a little under $30.
Also living in Dnipro is Tatyana Belye and her husband, son, daughter, and grandmother. The family has been hit hard by the disastrous effects of the recession and inflation caused by the war in Ukraine. Even though she should be on maternity leave, Tatyana still works odd jobs to help put food on the table. The Fellowship and our supporters are proud to help this hardworking mother, as well as helping her afford mental health assistance for her daughter.
Elderly Jews living in the former Soviet countries of Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine also received aid from The Fellowship’s annual grants. Even though their dwellings may not be much, they face every day with a smile, as they receive essential assistance from The Fellowship, including medicine and funds to pay for heating bills during the harsh winter.
“If it weren’t for The Fellowship, I don’t know what would have happened to me. They give me not only financial, but also moral support, without which it would be impossible to live — with the inflation, the energy crisis, and all that,” said 89-year-old Aleksander. “We receive the main assistance on a bank card, and I can buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Without this help, I couldn’t make it.”
